Firefighters at the scene of the explosion that killed seven people in the building in the south of France (photos)

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin visited the scene where tonight’s fire killed seven people including two children.

Residents had heard an explosion around 1:30 a.m. after which a fire had engulfed both sides of the road in the small coastal town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque.

“I heard a loud explosion and then I saw big flames. The building was destroyed by fire, “said neighbor Nadine Bret, 59.
She added that the building had a ‘fast-food’ store on the ground floor, from which the explosion is believed to have come.

Firefighters continued to search for victims today even though the building had remained unsafe from fire damage.

A man in his 30s was taken to hospital after being thrown from the second floor to escape the flames.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the causes of the incident.

French firefighters were working today on the scene of an explosion that killed at least seven people east of the Pyrenees.